MENTAL HEALTH Thinking It Through
Julianne Kinch, Consultant Clinical Neuropsychologist at Christchurch Group, discusses the importance of offering a variety of treatment plans to ensure that individuals who have suffered acquired brain injuries get the right help for them.
Mental health issues for those that have suffered an acquired brain injury can be caused by both physiological and psychological factors. These could include damage to the areas of the brain that control emotions or due to the individual’s realisation of the effects of their injury on their life.
A number of psychological symptoms can develop, including depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anger and extreme mood swings. All of these are factors that can deeply affect a person’s health and wellbeing, and ultimately determine their journey to recovery.
Psychological symptoms of brain injury and mental health can be very similar, oſten leading to the individual being offered treatment in the wrong setting.
Those with a brain injury may also find they have a dual diagnosis, where they are diagnosed as having a mental health condition as well as a brain injury; which can cause considerable difficulty in accessing the right treatment. Mental health services will be reluctant to offer treatment due to the presence of a brain injury and brain injury services may feel that they are not qualified to treat those with mental health issues. At Christchurch Group, we are able to treat both issues within the same service, offering a fully personalised support package. We are able to offer treatment and rehabilitation programmes overseen by Consultant Neuropsychiatrists as well as Consultant Clinical Neuropsychologists. Such programmes incorporate the most up-to-date medical (drug) therapies as well as psychological (talking) therapies.
Traditionally, psychological therapy for traumatic brain injury has almost solely utilised Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT); a talking therapy that helps change the way you think and behave. It teaches individuals to break down their problems into smaller parts and to change negative patterns/ thoughts to promote a more positive attitude. CBT is oſten used alongside Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), which uses techniques such as breathing exercises and
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meditation to help people focus on the present, rather than the past or future.
At Christchurch Group, we are now incorporating Compassion- Focused Therapy (CFT) into our psychological treatment programmes. CFT focuses on teaching people to address feelings of shame and self-criticism and foster the ability to self-soothe. In addition, we are conducting pioneering research into self-compassion, compassionate care and compassion fatigue within frontline care staff, which will allow for training targeted on improving staff’s quality of life both at work and at home.
Alongside the various therapies that are provided to patients to enable rehabilitation, the physical rehabilitation environment plays a huge part in health and wellbeing. Accommodation should be suited to an individual’s needs, whether this is an independent living apartment or a community house, so they are comfortable and secure. Dependent on an individual’s ability, they should have access to a range of activities that interest them and be supported to visit the places that make them happy.
It goes without saying that the teams that care for patients should be compassionate, motivated and friendly. It is likely the individual will be communicating with a number of different professionals, including nurses, occupational therapists, language therapists, dieticians, psychologists and more. The relationships the patient builds with these teams and how they all work together, will be key to their progress.
Whatever the injury or diagnosis, a quality rehabilitation pathway plan will focus on the cognitive, social, emotional, psychological and physical effects of the brain injured person and will provide an individually tailored, holistic, rehabilitation programme which support them to maximise their potential and ensure that they achieve the best quality of life possible.
www.christchurchgroup.co.uk www.tomorrowscare.co.uk
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